Boston Comic Con kicks off the three-day comic book convention on Friday, August 12 to Sunday August 14!

Boston Comic Con Celebrity Guest list includes William Shatner, the original Captain James T. Kirk, whose appearance, along with Vic Mignogna, marks the celebration of Star Trek’s 50th anniversary. Also appearing are leading stars from top current TV shows including John Barrowman, Caity Lotz, Ciara Renee, Danielle Panabaker and Robbie Amell from CW’s Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash, BenMckenzie from Gotham, ElizabethHenstridge from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., GillianAnderson from the X-Files and featuring special appearances from Doctor Who companions JennaColeman and KarenGillan.

Frank Miller, the most celebrated creators in comic book history, headlines a stellar line-up of over 90 world class comic book artists and writers, including notable appearances by SamKieth and JohnCassaday. Kieth is best known for his creator-owned titles The Maxx and Zero Girl and as co-creator of The Sandman. Cassady is a fan favorite artist with acclaimed runs on Planetary, Captain America, Astonishing X-Men and Marvel’s new Star Wars series. They join other famed artists such as Arthur Adams, Mike and Laura Allred, Greg Capullo, Amanda Conner, Terry Dodson, Phil Jimenez, Erik Larsen, Jae Lee, David Lloyd, Jimmy Palmiotti, Scott Snyder, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman, Bernie Wrightson and many more.

On Friday, August 12, it’s Family Day where kids age 10 and under will receive free admission to the show featuring a variety of family friendly activities.

On Saturday, August 13, Mayor Marty Walsh will greet William Shatner and deliver a proclamation to the Star Trek legend. This will take place at 9:45 AM in the Harborview Ballroom at the Seaport World Trade Center. Also participating are Nick Kanieff and Jim Talbot, co-founders of Boston Comic Con.

On Sunday, August 14, the convention continues and includes one of the most anticipated events of the weekend, the annual Costume Contest on Sunday, August 14 from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM in the Plaza Ballroom.

Boston Comic Con welcomes Gillian Anderson on August 13-14! Gillian is an award-winning actress best known for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the iconic sci-fi drama The X-Files. Currently she is filming the television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods for Starz. She recently starred in the series The Fall, Hannibal, and War & Peace. Her film work includes The House of Mirth, The Last King of Scotland, and a voice role in the English dub of Princess Mononoke.

About Boston Comic Con:
The Boston Comic Con is a 100% independently run comic book show committed to bringing the biggest and best comic creators to New England. Run by fans for fans, Boston Comic Con is not affiliated with any other convention tour or corporate interests. Hosting over 120,000 square feet of vendors selling comic books, toys, posters, trading cards, and other pop culture memorabilia, this is a destination event for geeks of any stripe. This year’s convention will be held Friday August 12th, Saturday August 13th, and Sunday August 14th at the Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02210. For more information please go to our website at www.bostoncomiccon.com and follow us on Twitter (@BostonComicCon) and Facebook!

UNFORTUNATELY GILLIAN ANDERSON HAS HAD TO CANCEL HER APPEARANCE AT BOSTON COMIC CON.

Press Release:

The truth is out there! We’re happy to welcome Gillian Anderson to Boston Comic Con! Gillian is an award-winning actress known best for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the iconic drama The X-Files, which has just began production on a new series. She currently stars in the psychological thrillers The Fall as Stella Gibson and Hannibal as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier. Her film work includes The House of Mirth, The Last King of Scotland, and a voice role in the English dub of Princess Mononoke.

Gillian will sign autographs and do photo ops with fans at Boston Comic Con all day SATURDAY AUGUST 1st and SUNDAY AUGUST 2nd. Autographs will be sold on-site at the show. Photo op tickets will be sold online beginning June 15th *UPDATE* available now at the link!

If you are coming in from out of town, the official Boston Comic Con hotel is the Seaport Hotel which is attached to the show venue (The Seaport World Trade Center).

About Boston Comic Con:
The Boston Comic Con is a 100% independently run comic book show committed to bringing the biggest and best comic creators to New England. Run by fans for fans, Boston Comic Con is not affiliated with any other convention tour or corporate interests. Hosting over 120,000 square feet of vendors selling comic books, toys, posters, trading cards, and other pop culture memorabilia, this is a destination event for geeks of any stripe. This year’s convention will be held Friday July 31st, Saturday August 1st, and Sunday August 2nd at the Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 02210. For more information please go to our website at www.bostoncomiccon.com and follow us on Twitter (@BostonComicCon) and Facebook!

Join author and actor Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, Hannibal) and co-author Jeff Rovin at the Apple Store on Friday, October 10th, 2014 from 7:00PM – 8:00PM for a conversation about Anderson’s first novel, A Vision of Fire. The book follows a renowned child psychologist and single mom as she tries to solve a series of seemingly unrelated events that involve teens acting strangely—and sometimes dying mysteriously—around the world.

Gillian Anderson appears at Mysterious Galaxy on Tuesday October 14, 2014 at 7:00 pm to sign A Vision of Fire!

This is a numbered event – numbers for the signing line are free with the purchase of A Vision of Fire from Mysterious Galaxy, available October 7th, starting at 10 AM!

If you are planning to attend the event, please do not place your order through the web site as all such orders are processed after the event. Instead, please contact the store and purchase the book on or after the on-sale date.

The first novel from iconic X-Files star Gillian Anderson and New York Times bestselling author Jeff Rovin: a science fiction thriller of epic proportions.

Renowned child psychologist Caitlin O’Hara is a single mom trying to juggle her job, her son, and a lackluster dating life. Her world is suddenly upturned when Maanik, the daughter of India’s ambassador to the United Nations, starts speaking in tongues and having violent visions. Caitlin is sure that her fits have something to do with the recent assassination attempt on her father—a shooting that has escalated nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan to dangerous levels—but when teenagers around the world start having similar outbursts, Caitlin begins to think that there’s a more sinister force at work.

In Haiti, a student claws at her throat, drowning on dry land. In Iran, a boy suddenly and inexplicably sets himself on fire. Animals, too, are acting irrationally, from rats in New York City to birds in South America to ordinary house pets. With Asia on the cusp of nuclear war, Caitlin must race across the globe to uncover the mystical links among these seemingly unrelated incidents in order to save her patient—and perhaps the world.

About the Author
Gillian Anderson is an award-winning film, television, and theatre actress whose credits include the roles of Special Agent Dana Scully in the long-running and critically acclaimed drama series, The X-Files, ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in The House of Mirth, and Lady Dedlock in the BBC production of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House. She is currently playing the role of Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier in Hannibal and is a costar on the television thriller, Crisis. She currently lives in the UK with her daughter and two sons.

Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin sign and discuss their new book A Vision of Fire on Wednesday October 8, 2014 at 6:00 PM! Must purchase book at this store for entry.

About the Author
Gillian Anderson is an award-winning film, television, and theatre actress whose credits include the roles of Special Agent Dana Scully in the long-running and critically acclaimed drama series, The X-Files, ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in The House of Mirth, and Lady Dedlock in the BBC production of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House. She is currently playing the role of Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier in Hannibal and is a costar on the television thriller, Crisis. She currently lives in the UK with her daughter and two sons.

Jeff Rovin is the author of more than 100 books, fiction and nonfiction, both under his own name, under various pseudonyms, or as a ghostwriter, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. He has written over a dozen Op-Center novels for the late Tom Clancy. Rovin has also written for television and has had numerous celebrity interviews published in magazines under his byline. He is a member of the Author’s Guild, the Science Fiction Writers of America, and the Horror Writers of America, among others.

A brief Scene on the Web this week, but NYCC adds Gillian Anderson and John Romita, Jr., Harry Potter gets a spin-off movie, and we round up some great Dragon Con videos for you including the JLA taking on the Avengers!

NEW YORK and NEW ORLEANS, September 25, 2012 – Viewers of “The X-Files” were told to “Trust No One” and to “Deny Everything.” Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con attendees, on the other hand, can trust that Gillian Anderson, who starred as “Agent Dana Scully” in the popular Fox TV show, will be appearing at Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, and confirm that she will be attending on Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Anderson an award-winning film, television, and theatre actress whose other credits include the ill-fated socialite “Lily Bart” in Terence Davies’ masterpiece The House of Mirth (2000) and “Lady Dedlock” in the very successful BBC production of Charles Dickens’ “Bleak House.”

In 2003, she won the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Best Actress Award for her West End debut in Michael Weller’s two-hander “What the Night Is For.” The following year, she starred in Rebecca Gilman’s play “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball” which ran at London’s Royal Court Theatre from March 25 through May 15, 2004. From May 14 through July 18, 2009, she played Nora in a new version of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” at the Donmar Warehouse in London. She received a Laurence Olivier Nomination for her performance.

Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, produced by Wizard World, Inc. (WIZD.PK), will bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Admission is free for kids 10 and under, and Sunday, December 2, is “Kids Day,” an array of programming specially designed for children.

About Wizard World:
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.

“Don’t you call me a mindless philosopher you overweight glob of grease!”

— C-3PO to Jabba the Hutt, Star Wars: A New Hope

Carl Jung may have said it more eloquently, but leave it to the droid C-3P0 to sum up my response to critics of sci-fi and fantasy. Those who unfairly dismiss the worlds of fantasy as mindless and cheesy are missing the big picture: that the genre, when done well, can teach us more about ourselves than almost any other.

From franchise epics like Star Trek and Star Wars to serial dramas like The X-Files, the best sci-fi and fantasy offer a glimpse into our modern world through a distorted, funhouse mirror. They offer a safe place to deal with challenging questions about society, technology, ethics and politics. They just happen to also offer heroes in spandex — and the occasional Wookie.

Behind almost every costumed fangirl and fanboy flocking to this week’s Fan Expo in Toronto, is a story that has challenged us, and made us re-think our place in the universe.

Just a quick glance at the list of celebrity appearances at Fan Expo offers countless examples of fantasy as high-art.

For starters, there’s Gillian Anderson. As Scully on The X-Files, Anderson represented our modern skepticism of the fantastical – the logic-driven cynicism of our age. Her counterpart, David Duchovny as Fox Mulder, offered the other side of the coin: a man willing to challenge beliefs, to push boundaries and to believe the impossible was possible. When you look past the alien conspiracy, sexual tension — and the occasional sewer monster — their two characters are a good representation of how the sci-fi genre works.

We, as the audience, are all Scullys. And sci-fi and fantasy works — whether novel, comic, TV show or film — are collectively, the Mulder of the equation. Probing. Challenging. Mind-opening.

Lou Ferrigno of The Incredible Hulk will bring his biceps to this week’s convention. The series, which originally ran from 1978 to 1982, is cherished for its campy fun. But at the same time, The Hulk connects on a personal level. Brainy scientist Bruce Banner, and his inner-green demon and anger issues, speaks to the animal instincts inside all of us. Sure, we’re civilized. But who among us hasn’t wanted to give in to their frustrations and embrace the big green behemoth’s mantra of “Hulk smash.” There is a reason why Mark Ruffalo’s understated, human portrayal of the character in the recent film, The Avengers, offered some of its best moments.

Christopher Lloyd’s bug-eyed Doc Brown — also in Toronto this week — offered an almost cartoon-like presence in the Back to the Future series. But the good doctor and company made us think about the future we all might face, especially in the series’ second installment where Marty (Michael J. Fox) visits the not-so-distant future of 2015. So much of the future portrayed as fantastical in the film has come true. The interactive homes, with their multi-connected screens and ready access to electronic news and information, are already a part of our modern, web and mobile-driven lives. (For the record: I’m still waiting for my flying car and hover board).

The best sci-fi not only reflects who we are but tells us where we might go. The Star Trek franchise is healthily represented at Fan Expo by Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek Voyager) and Levar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation). Through its intergalactic, fictional canvas, the series explored some of our most taboo, troubling subjects — from genocide, racism and civil war, to terrorism and genetic science. The show’s depiction of an ideal-driven struggle for equality and peace among vastly different species, offered lessons on mutual respect for our all-too divisive real world. (They showed us the magic potential of a holodeck… I’m betting Apple is already working on one).

James Marsters will be in town from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a cult series that used metaphor-laden monsters and demons to tell a coming-of-age story of a teenage girl and her group of friends. Alan Tudyk is here from Joss Whedon’s short-lived, beloved series Firefly, which portrayed a central government vastly overstepping its powers and authority. Not a future any of us want to see, but one explored in some of the best sci-fi epics. Firefly’s portrayal of a future language, which at times seemed a hybrid of English and Chinese, might be another one of those fictional ideas that one day becomes a reality in our globalized culture.

X-Files, showcased at Fan Expo with appearances by both Anderson and William B. Davies, (the actor who playing The Smoking Man), inadvertently sums up the genre best. Mulder’s character once suggested, “dreams are answers to questions we haven’t figured out how to ask yet.”

The same could be said for sci-fi and fantasy. It’s the landscape of dreams, but it can offer us answers to some of our most important and burning questions.

• Chris Lackner is a Media Consultant with Holmes Creative Communications and a journalist. He can be reached at clackner@hccink.com.